Machine for handling slabs



1931- A. E. APPLEYARD MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS Filed May 25, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 22, 1931. A. E. APPLEYARD MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS e Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1931 Decf22, 1931. E. APPLEYARD 1,837,846

MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS Filed May 25, 1951 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 mew]? Dec. 22, 1931. A, E APPLEYARD 1,837,846

MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS Filed May 25, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 wfw/ Dec. 22, 1931. APPLEYARD 1,837,846

MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS Filed May 25, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 22, 1931. A, E, APPLEYARD 1,837,846

MACHINE FOR HANDLING SLABS Filed May 25, 1931 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Dec. 22, 1931 .7 This invention relates; to sinach-ines for handling heavy stone slabs,v-toiiacilitate the finishing or working ofvthe Eedgesjther'eofl a It is 1 an obj ect of my ipresent invention :to

5 provide a highly efficient machine. for re ceiving, manipulating .sand wilting. heavy slabs of material such asgraniteoor other stone to enable theedges .of; the umaterial to be successively disposed; -;in' upright position '10 to facilitate the-finishing II1d;:iWO1 kiI1g thereof. we; 1%: L -More specifically it-cis-an object of. '1 in: vention to provide machineaoftth'e;%class described wherein mechanismysuch as a: turn table is provided for receivingiand revolving a slab fiat-wise upon :a vertical laxis; in acorn-1 bination with a tilttablesforinreceivingi the material from one side of the turn tablerand tilting the same to edge-wisejposition.

ZIt is..a--furtl1er :ob'ect tozipro'videi-aamae chine of the class describediwhich is adapted to receive and handlerislabsmvarying widely in thickness and in; areauranduwhichzimayibe operated rapidlyuto shiftthe position: 'of a slabrand to, tilt' the slabiintoya; position=for finishing or working edgesthereof. at 1 These: and other Y objects rgand advantages of the invention will gbemore fully; set/forth :up on: two saopposite' in the following description zmaidefinconnec view; of on form? of:

" of my invention'withsome:portions-gbroken v I l 5 ',-r a o i Fig. 5ris a viewshowingrmostsofzthe ma-t chine shown in Fig; 41in side elevation with a slab of stone securedto tlie 'tllti'tZtblQ-zSODlQ portionsbeingbroken away earnest-e r mamas. 1 i TI a, M IM 1:

'pnc ile fiieajnay 1951. seriai na'seaiswi i Fig. 6 is agfragmentary elevation showing them'otor, .dri'Vingconnection with the tiltingscrew shaft and the pivotal mounting for the motor,,which-details are not shown in Fig.6; 1= i a 7 11' f rFig. T is a cross-sectionqtaken ontheline 7+7rofFigs5 and y 1 r r, Fig; 8' is across section takenon the line 878 of Fig. ,5 showingthe carriage fOIgSllPe porting the clamping; mechanism on the tilt table an'dcthemeans for-driving the same. Iritheform of the invention illustrated in Eigsulto 3 inclusive, a suitable foundation Fis. provided which may 'be constructed, of concrete 7 or-sother" inaterial and upon which the iseveral mechanismsof my machine are supported. p Foundation Fidefin'es 1a rectangular pit P: for accommodating ,mytilt table and said pit has :anjelongated extension.P= at: one :;end thereof for, accommodating the operating; mechanism for, the tilt table-.; 7 1 1 horizontal turn table 10: ,is Y suitably; mo'untedzxabove the forward end of: pit-P.- Aslsliown-,.- said turntable is mounted on a base :11 whichjis supported from a pairiof i.

heavy I-beams lEZ traversing theside walls of ;the foundation; A- suitable ball, race 10a isiinterjposed between the; turn table and its base 11,:to facilitatei'the turning of the table.

1 Astilt table indicated as an entirety byr the s letterrT 'is 'mounted above pit P and is adapts edarzto ssurrou'ndtthe rear" portion of the turn table and may constitute a skeleton; frame comprising f a: series ofparallel longitudinal channel members; 13' disposed edg'ewise and is connected atxtheir rear. ,ends l by 2 means of a cross'beam 14: iiitheform ofga channel; ,Two of: said itllt. table members 13 are: disposed at the longitudinal 1 central portion of the table and are inset-somedistance from the forward ends of theuother 1 longitudinal members and are connected therewith: by suitable means such, as the heavy platesfior ywebs '15; Short cross. beams; 1 6 as shown in Fig. 1;) '1 rigidly connect I the 1 forward portions 10f; the: side i channel;;mernbers :13. .Beams 1:17, d pend end .of the pit extension P.

from the tilt platform T and decline at an acute angle to the top of the tilt table. The medial portions of the two tilt beams are pivoted on a heavv horizontal shaft 18 which traverses the side walls of the foundation F and which is provided at portions disposed outwardly of the beams 17 with eccentrics'19 journaled in heavy bearings 20 supported from the foundation F. Shaft 18 extends beyond one of the bearings 20 and is provided with an operating" lever 18a by'which it may be oscillated to operate the eccentric and in so doing elevate the tilt platform to a position substantially flush with thelevelof the turn table 10.

Tilt table T is swingable upon the axis of shaft 18' and motor operated mechanism is provided connected with the lower ends of tilting beams 17 for effecting and control-. ling the tilting. As shown, said tilting mechanism comprises a sleeve 21 pivotally connected at its rearward end to the lower ends of beamsl? and threadedly engaging at its forward end a screw shaft 22 the outer orrear end of which carriesapiston 22aworking within said sleeve. Screw shaft 22 is fixed at its forward end to a gear 23 pivotally-mounted ona motor bracket 2 1- and is meshed with a driving pinion 25 of amotor M which is secured to the upper flange of said bracket. Bracket 24: is pivotally mounted on trunnions 24a, for swinging movement on a pedestal 26 which :may .be anchored to a suitable shoulder provided in the forward A clamping carriage C is mounted on the tilting table T for :'-longitudinal' movement thereon and as shown comprises a cross beam 27 traversing the longitudinal channels 13 of thetilt table and-supported thereon and having rigidly secured thereto a triangular platform 27a which carries a depending follower .28 guided between the centrally disposed channels 13 and having internal threaded engagement with an operating screw shaft 29 which extends longitudinally' of the tilt table=and is suitably journaled in end portions thereof and which is provided at its rear end with.

an operating crank 29a. OarriageC has mounted thereon one or more clamps orother suitable attaching means, which as shown, comprises a vertical worm shaft 30 having threaded engagement with an overhanging support 31. -The worm shaft is provided with a hand wheel 30a at the upper end thereof and a clamping. disk 305 at the lower end thereof. It will be noticed, by reference to Fig. 2, that the forward edge of the. cross beam 27 of the carriage is positioned a short distance rearwardly of shaft 30 and constis tutes a step 271; for abutting and engaging one edge of a slab S.

In Fig. 2 the vertically tilted'position of tilt table T and the associated parts is indicated in dotted lines. To cushion thetilting Operation In operation, with the parts disposed as shown in the full lines in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive, a slab'of'material S is'placed upon the turn tablelO, usually handled by suitable means such as a crane or derrick and positioned; as nearlyas-possible centrally of the turn table. The slab may then be turned with the table manually to bring an edge thereof. in the desired relation with-the tilt table='T. The tiltztable is next. raised by means of the eccentric lift,.comprising eccen tric 19, shaft-18 and lever 18a. Carriage U is then adjusted by manipulationpf the worm wheel 29a+to dispose the step 27a of the carrier-in abutment with theirearward edge-of the slab. 1 The clamp or clamps 30 are then appliedrigidly connecting the slabwith the tilt table. The tilt table may then be swung or tipped to the desired position by operating driving motor .M, which of course results in the swinging of theheavy tilting beams 17 throughtheconnection of sleeve 21 with the lower ends thereof. In vertical position the tilt table andslab secured thereto will appear as indicatedin the dotted linesin Fig. 2. It will be noted that theilongitudinal edges of the-slab will then be disposed vertically in position tobe finished or worked on by stone cutters or workmen standing in'pit P.

- To enable the otheredges of the slab to be worked itis only necessary. to reverse the operation of motorM, returning the tilt-table to normal horizontal position, lower thetilt table by means of the eccentric lever, disengage theclamps and turn the slab upon the turntablevto a proper position for exposing the desired edges when the slab isagain tilted.

It will'be 'seenthat the machinemaybe quickly and easily controlled and willhandle very heavy slabs of materialtefliciently. and quickly enabling edges to be successively disposed in cutting. W Thegformof my invention illustrated. in Figs. 4to 8 inclusive .is similar in many respects and-"in generalzfunction to the form first described;

Instead, however of vertically adjusting the. position: of. the tiltatable to relieve the weight of the slab from the tllI'ILztftblG, the turn table is constructed foi vertical adjustmentby means 'of a: hydraulic jack built into the base thereof. The tilt table T of the'said second form :of my invention is constructed from suitable-heavybeams spaced. apart. and securedtogetherby means. ofcross beams and having a recessed portion .in the forward end proper position for finishing and thereof for partially surrounding the turn ta le 10. Turn table 10 as clearly shown in Fig. 7 is mounted on a suitable ball race which is supported from a heavy vertical sleeve 40, said sleeve being slidably mounted for vertical movement in a pedestal or base 41 mounted on the foundation of the pit structure. Sleeve 40 may be raised'and held in a desired vertically adjusted position by means of a suitable hydraulic jack indicated as an entirety by the letter J and controllable by means of a lever 42 which projects outwardly from the forward portion of the base 41.

The second form of my invention is also provided with a carriage C mounted for longitudinal movement on the tilt table T and provided as shown with three slab engaging clamps 30. The movement of this carriage is effected by means of a worm 29 journaled in the tilt table extending longitudinally thereof and as shown driven by means of a motor M mounted at the rear of the tilt table. The pit and foundation for this second form of my invention are necessarily deeper than in the first form since the tilt table swings on a heavy non-adjustable pivot shaft 18 on which heavy depending legs 43 of the tilt table are journaled. The tilting of the table T and maintenance of the same in the desired adjusted position is effected by means of a threaded sleeve and screw connection driven by a motor M pivotally mounted on a suitable bracket which may be secured to the foundation adjacent the bottom of pit P, see Figs. 5 and 6. As shown the worm or screw 22 threadedly engages a portion of sleeve 21, said sleeve being pivotally connectedat its upper end to an intermediate portion of tilt table T.

In addition to the clamps 30 mounted on carriage C, additional means are provided in association with the tilting platform for securing the slab of material. To this end I provide a pair of inclined forwardly extending arms 45 between which is slidably and removably positioned a wedge timber 44, said wedge timber carrying a pair of sliders 44a. It will be obvious that by forcing the wedge timber rearwardly upon arms 45 the same may be brought into clamping relation with a slab disposed upon the tilting platform.

Operation justed longitudinally of tilt table T by properly operating the actuating motor M and the Thetipping uranium-able sefieete d by proper operation o f the mo or which drivsi the s'crew'"or wornr 22i ens cliaiiges: may; be madetne roring deg tails, proportionsfand arrang ment-'5 f the arts, -wi tlioat"de arting fr6m 'thescope at my nventio'nfwhicli, fgeiieral ly' 'state'd sists in a; deti'ce ca able of carr ing: 7 1e objects above set-forth and in the novel p'a-rts eamm te fpmszd' iined-=-1n" the appendedclaims;

What is claimed is 1. In a machine for handling heavy slabs, a turn table, a tilt table disposed in juxtaposition to said turn table, means for efiecting vertical adjustment between said turn table and said tilt table and means for tilting said tilt table.

2. In a machine for handling heavy slabs, a turn table, a tilt table disposed in juxtaposition to said turn table, means for vering said tilt table.

4. In a machine for handling heavy slabs, a turn table, a tilt table disposed in juxtaposition to said turn table, means for vertically adjusting one of said tables, a carriage mounted on said tilt table for adjustment longitudinally thereof, said carriage including an element for engaging a slab of material and means for tilting said tilt table.

5. In a machine for handling heavy slabs, a foundation having a pit formed therein, a turn table mounted on the top of said foundation across a portion of said pit, a tilt table also mounted across the top of said foundaall tionrinijuxtaposition tosaid turn table, means for vertically adjusting one ofsaid tables, means associated With said tilt table for securinga slab thereto and means for swinging said tilt table on a horizontal axis to disposea substantial portion thereof Within said pit.

6.. Thestructure set forth in claim 5, Wherein said tilting meansvcomprise a Worm drive connected-With said tilt table eccentric of its tilting axis and having a swivelly mounted bracketin Whichthe opposite end thereof is journaledi v i V 7. In a machine for handling heavy slabs, a foundation having a pit formed therein, a turn table .mounted across the upper portionof said foundation, a tilt table also mounted across the upper portion of said foundation above said pit and adapted to be disposed in substantially horizontal position, means for verticallyadjustil'ig=one of said tables, said tilt table having its forward end partially surrounding said turn table, means for securing a slab tosaid tilt table, and means for swinging said tilt table on a horizontal axis to position a substantial portion of said-table with a slab secured thereto Within said pit. i

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR APPLEYARD. 

